Getty Josh Woods on the field with the Bears in a game in 2020.
The Detroit Lions have been taking stock of their roster, and are looking at bringing back a lot of their key players first and foremost before they attack the free agency market.
With a signing of fullback Jason Cabinda last week, the Lions showed they are comitted to glue players for the roster. That showed itself again on Tuesday, February 22 when the Lions re-signed young linebacker Josh Woods to the roster.
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The team revealed the move with a tweet and a press release.
#Lions re-sign LB Josh Woods
Woods was an early addition to the Lions’ practice squad in 2021, coming over from the Chicago Bears. After he came over, it took only a few weeks until he saw action against Minnesota on the road. Woods played in six games for the Lions and racked up 28 total tackles. His high water mark was 13 tackles in Week 14 for the team.
For 2022, Woods will be able to not only perhaps chase down a role for the defense, but special teams as well. That could make him a big addition for the overall depth of the roster.
Woods Earned Role Late During 2021 Season
With injuries and illness playing a role, Woods has stepped up late in the season with a big game against Denver, and may have opened eyes for a future role with the team that day. He might have to only point to his work in Week 14 as the starting point.
Woods did everything he could to lead the defense in the game against Denver, including taking over communication responsibilities from the injured Alex Anzalone. As he explained to the media after the game, being in command was a big deal, but improvements were the goal for the whole team.
“Obviously bigger responsibility, but you know, that’s part of the job. I was ready for it, but like I said, want to get better about everything. Just can’t wait to get back to the film,” he explained to the media at the time.
Improving is the biggest goal, but Woods already saw himself as ready, even amid the wild swing of taking over for an important spot on the field. As Woods said, he saw it as his chance to shine and be ready.
“Whirlwind no doubt. But thats the nature of the business. It’s all about opportunity. When it’s your time, you’ve got to be ready,” he explained.
Woods managed to seize that opportunity with a big game, and it may have helped him stick around with the roster for the 2022 season as a result.
Woods’ Career Stats & Highlights
How did Woods get to Detroit in the first place to earn his spot now? Woods has been hanging around in Chicago for the last few seasons on the team’s practice squad, and as an undrafted free agent since 2018, he’s been there a while for the team at 25 years old. Woods came into the league in 2018 as a rookie out of Maryland where he put up 107 tackles, 2 interceptions and 6 passes defended. When he came into the league, he worked with Detroit linebacker coach Mark DeLeone, who likely had some influence over the decision to bring Woods into the mix.
In the NFL, Woods hasn’t seen much time, and has only put up 19 tackles and collected 1 fumble recovery in his career. He’s been solid on special teams, though, with 15 snaps there in 2019. At the very least, he does have NFL snaps under his belt, though, which could prove valuable for Detroit.
Woods is also a quality personality too as this interview with Bears Nation Podcast showed:
Detroit’s new linebacker seems to have the game and the mindset to be a mainstay already. Now, he’ll get the chance to stick around for 2022 and carve out a new role.
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